The present invention discloses an apparatus which makes the process of the prescription and manufacture of custom-made orthotic devices for the feet simpler, less expensive and more accurate. Orthoses for the feet are inner sole devices which are inserted into a person's shoes to correct malalignment of the foot, which can cause a variety of physical symptoms, including lower back pain, knee and other joint problems, heel spurs and general foot pain.
Orthotic therapy is defined as the use of an appliance or apparatus to support, align, prevent or correct deformity, or to modify position or motion, and improve the function of the movable parts of the body. The “orthoses” is the actual appliance or device. Orthotic foot devices are the most common form of orthoses and are generally used to correct malalignment of the feet. The device is inserted into the shoe and corrects, or attempts to correct, the malalignment by tilting the foot into its proper position.
Malalignment of the foot will usually mean that the foot leans too much to one side when standing or walking. This can cause symptoms such as back pain, knee problems and leg or general foot pain. The symptoms can be aggravated by age or sporting activities and it is usually only after a person has suffered ongoing chronic pain in their back, leg, knees or feet that the person will seek help. Diabetic patients over 60 years of age generally benefit greatly from feet orthoses. Correctly prescribed, foot orthoses can spread pressure evenly over the foot base and thus reduce the incidence of chronic ulcers.
In some cases, patients will visit a podiatrist to request orthoses after prior consultation with other medical and paramedical practitioners—such as physiotherapists, chiropractors or osteopaths—for a condition they would not have normally associated with the foot. In other cases, the patient will be prescribed orthotic inserts after consulting a podiatrist about general foot or heel pain. In most other instances, the patient will have heard of the benefits of orthotic inserts from satisfied former patients. Orthotic devices are popular with both professional and keen amateur sports people through word of mouth and also through the growth in the number of doctors specialising in sports medicine.
Pre-fabricated, generically sized, orthotic devices are also sold over the counter in pharmacies and by mail order by medical suppliers.
Orthotic devices for the feet have been widely prescribed by podiatrists in Australia since the early 1970s. Prior to this, neither podiatrists nor chiropodists were trained in assessing biomechanical abnormalities of the foot, a prerequisite for the prescribing of orthoses. Orthotic therapy has proved successful for many patients and demand has increased, mainly through word of mouth.